Strength of Love

Chapter 6

The Prophecy

Hermione flounced up to the sofas, where Ron, and the twins were waiting, rather anxiously while she talked to Lavender and Parvati. They were all in the Gryffindor Common room. Hermione was still mad at them for electing her to be the one to approach the giggling duo, but Ron flat out refused to have the conversation with them. Harry and Ginny, still in the dark over the events, had disappeared about half an hour earlier, and for once, Ginny's brothers, wanting them both out of the way hadn't objected. Too eager for some time alone, a rare event since the invasion of the school, neither had stopped to question it, and left quicker than you could say, 'Merlin's Beard,' leaving the others to work on the prophecy angle.

She threw herself into the sofa, while a mass of red-heads watched her intently.

"Well," Ron asked impatiently, when Hermione didn't say anything.

"I'm thinking," Hermione shushed him.

"Think faster," Ron ordered. And Fred and George grinned at the two's usual bantering.

"What did they say, Hermione?" George asked.

"There is a prophecy, but it isn't fully deciphered as yet. Its written in some ancient rune language. About 10 centuries old," Hermione said.

"Okay, then..." Ron said, "In that case why did they react so extremely."

"Some of the words in the prophecy matched what happened," Hermione answered, opening the book Parvati had loaned her.

"Which ones?" Fred queried, looking curious.

Ron moved so he was sitting on the edge of Hermione's chair, and he could see over her shoulder. Fred and George exchanged a look at the familiarity the change in seating was orchestrating, but refrained from teasing their brother.

"This is what they have so far...Boy who lived, unicorn, silver pool, stag, the lion's line, soulmates, the snake's master, emerald eyes, hair of fire...but not in that particular order. The prophecy itself is much longer apparently than the normal ones, which are only a few lines long, and this one is different from than the normal ones as it describes a love of great magnitude, one which defeats the Dark Lord. Parvati and Lavender are convinced its about Harry and Ginny, even if they don't know the whole thing. And..." Hermione trailed off.

"And?" all the Weasleys asked in unison.

"I think they might be right. Its obvious from the descriptions they have so far, its about Harry - he's the only boy who lived, and it must be about Voldemort since he's a parselmouth. But Ginny's role isn't fully defined as yet," Hermione was studying the runes that made up the original text.

"Damn, if it wasn't bad enough before," Ron muttered softly, and the twins nodded in agreement.

"We have to decipher this thing," George said, decisively.

"Yes, we do. I know some ancient runes but I am not sure if I can do it, " Hermione said, "And it hasn't been deciphered in 10 centuries, there must be a reason."

"Do you think Dumbledore knows what it means?" Fred asked.

"Dumbledore knows what?" the voice came from behind them. They all jumped guiltily. Behind them looked rather suspiciously at the foursome were Harry and Ginny, Harry's hand resting rather possessively in the small of Ginny's back.

Hermione looked at Ron, in panic, but before they could answer, Ginny looked sternly at them, "We know something is up. Lavender just came running to find us..."

She was cut off by Hermione's exclamation, "I don't believe her. I made her promise not to mention anything to you," Hermione did not look impressed.

"A-ha!," Harry shouted, "I knew you were hiding something from us," he said smugly.

"Yeah, you let us go too easily earlier," Ginny said, looking at the twins who blushed, uncharacteristically, "You didn't even make one objection."

Nobody said anything.

"Who's going to start?" Harry asked. He looked at Ron. He and Ginny sat down.

Hermione gave a Ron a resigned look, and then began to explain, to her rather sceptical audience.

"You're making assumptions that its about us," Ginny denied the possibility, "I really doubt someone is going to write some prophecy 10 centuries about Harry and me," Ginny said, and then she reconsidered, "Okay, Harry maybe, definitely not me."

"Hey," Harry protested when Ginny added the last bit.

"Ginny, its about two people who are soulmates," Hermione said patiently.

"Yeah, I don't know about you, but I am pretty sure that you're the only girl that Harry loves," Ron added, tactless as ever.

Harry and Ginny both blushed bright red. And immediately began avoiding each others eyes. Everything was still new. Fred reached over and hit Ron on his head.

"What?" Ron demanded, glaring at Fred. Hermione hit his arm warningly.

"Anyway," Ginny asked, trying desperately to change the subject, "How do you know its about us. It could be about any two people."

Hermione screamed suddenly, and jumped up, in excitement, dislodging Ron from his rather comfortable position next to her, landing him on the floor, a confused expression on his face. It was too much for the rest of them, who burst out laughing. Harry and Gin forgot their embarrassment, and leaned against each other, their laughter overwhelming them.

It was several minutes before they calmed much to Ron's disgust, and before they asked Hermione why she screamed.

"Ginny's right. It could have been about any two people," Hermione said, and Ginny looked smug, and Harry rather relieved, "But," the expressions faded from their face, "I bet that everyone assumed it was about the James and Lily Potter, but all this time it was really about Harry and Ginny."

Ginny grabbed Harry's hand in comfort, when Hermione mentioned his parents. And Harry looked pensive, "Are you saying that my parents were killed because of this prophecy, Hermione?"

Hermione looked unsure for a second, "I think so, yes. The descriptions that match you and Ginny, Harry, could easily describe your mum and dad."

"She's right, Harry," it came surprisingly from Ron, who was back to sitting on the couch, "Apart from a few things, I can easily see how there could be a mistake." Harry looked shocked, for a second. Her gripped Ginny's hand tighter.

"This is because I have red hair," Ginny said, denial desperate in her voice.

"The prophecy says hair of fire, not to mention the whole unicorn, stag thing, and the pool of silver," George answered.

"It matches Ginny," Fred added, "You both know it does."

"We need to talk to Dumbledore," Harry said. He stood up, pulling Ginny with him, then he paused, "Does this mean Voldemort knows about the prophecy. If he killed my parents because of it, he must know," Harry answered his own question.

"Maybe Dumbledore will have the full thing," Ginny said, hopefully, walking beside Harry towards the portrait hole. Ron, Hermione, and the twins followed the couple.

"I hope so," Ron whispered to Hermione.

**********************************************

Dumbledore didn't seem surprised to see them. If anything he appeared to be expecting them, along with Remus, Sirius and the rest of the Weasleys. The teens stared in surprise at the waiting crowd.

"I wondered how long it would take you," the headmaster said, his eyes twinkling. Those waiting looked surprised. Obviously they weren't aware of the reasons.

"Its about the prophecy," Ron said to Charlie and Bill, who knew already. They nodded, curiosity filling their faces.

"Why don't you tell me what you have so far," Professor Dumbledore suggested kindly to Hermione, when she looked a little nervous.

And so Hermione repeated the story, to a spellbound crowd.

"Is it true?" Sirius demanded as she fell silent, "Is that the reason James and Lily were killed?"

Professor Dumbledore looked at Sirius, and then at Harry. "There are things you do not know," he said, "Let me start from the beginning."

They all waited respectfully. Harry had Ginny held each others hands, in anticipation, in fear. As did Arthur and Molly.

"The prophecy was written a millennia ago by a very famous prophetess. Her name was Cassandra. Unfortunately like most prophecies this one was lost, until it surfaced in a small book over 200 years ago. What made Cassandra's prophecies different from most, was that they were clear, precise prophecies, unlike the usual vague predictions that Divination usually allows. And more importantly, Cassandra's predictions came with an estimated time period, usually narrowed down to the century."

Dumbledore had the full attention of his audience, as they listened raptly.

"She was a complicated person, though, extremely smart, and had the tendency to write her predictions in a number of languages, making them rather difficult to decipher. Those that were deciphered, it was discovered were accurate and always, it appeared, to come true. Of course this was after the event. This prophecy in particular was different from the rest. It was the longest, and from what could be made out referred to this particular century. It caused great excitement when it was discovered to be one of only a few that hadn't occurred as yet.

They began to decipher it immediately, but discovered that they were at least three runes in which the prophecy was written. When the title was translated, interest in the prophecy began to grow. Do you know the title?" Dumbledore paused to ask the question.

The teens shook their heads.

"The prophecy is called the Strength of Love," he said, and their were gasps were heard, Dumbledore smiled and continued, "From what they managed to decode, the consensus reached was that the prophecy described a dark period which would be brought about by a powerful parselmouth, who would be defeated by the light. The light, the prophecy said was made up of two people, soul mates, a powerful witch and wizard, whose love for each other would help defeat the one of the greatest dark wizards of all time. A hundred years ago, the prophecy itself disappeared, stolen, it was said by supporters of the Dark Arts who feared it coming true. Because the prophecy predicted a time period of this particular century, it began a race to discover who the light was. The little we had to describe them made that rather difficult, however. Many wizarding couples in the beginning of the century however were killed, on suspicions that they might be the one. Than all that stopped. And it appeared that the prophecy was once again missing.

For many years it was thought lost, and most had forgotten its contents, until thirty years ago, it turned up again, in a small Dark Arts store in Knockturn Alley, where it made its way to Hogwarts eventually. I discovered it, and began to work on translating what was left, with a few close friends of mine, for whom the prophecy was of great interest. One of them wrote the book that Miss Brown and Miss Patil obviously discovered.

Between us we managed to decode enough of the prophecy to narrow down the physical properties of what could only be red hair, and green eyes. By this time, of course we weren't aware quite yet of Voldemort's ability to talk to snakes, or that he too was working on it, only for the opposite reasons to us. Then we discovered the new translation. The line of the lion - a descendant of Godric Gryffindor, we surmised. So we began the search for his descendants. And discovered with it a few family secrets of the Potters," Dumbledore paused, and looked at Harry's shocked face.

"Yes, Harry. You are a direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor. Through your father. It appeared that the Potters kept this a close family secret, over the years being a target of Slytherin heirs. I wanted to let you know this, of course, but was waiting for the right time to reveal this to you. Unfortunately, this closely guarded secret, and the prophecy was discovered by Voldemort. It took him a little while longer to narrow down the relationship between Gryffindor and James but he did eventually. We made an assumption, based on the little we knew, and the close relationship between your parents that we had found the light. You must understand, Harry, " Dumbledore said, talking mainly to him now, "It all matched. Lily had red hair, and emerald eyes. And James was a direct descendant. And of course, the most convincing thing of all was their love. It was rare to find two people so in love as your parents were, Harry. We all thought we had the right couple," Dumbledore turned to face Sirius and Lupin.

"Only the highest members of the order were aware of the exact reasons why James and Lily were so important, and why we had to hide them," he said apologetically, "James and Lily wanted to tell you, but I wouldn't let them. Besides Lily didn't believe that she was part of the prophecy. It turns out she was right. She began to work on it separately, and just before she died, she sent me a message that she had deciphered the whole thing," the headmaster looked sad, "Unfortunately I never got to see that translation, and it was too late for both of them.

We weren't the only ones who believed they were the light. Voldemort went after them. He knew he only had to kill one of them, for the prophecy not to work. And just to make sure it would never again interfere in his plans, he tried to kill Harry, thus destroying the last of the line of the lion," Dumbledore smiled then, "Luckily for all of us, he didn't succeed."

There was silence as they all took in what the headmaster said.

"So it is true then," Harry said, "Its me that its talking about." He looked stunned. Sirius placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder, "And now you think its about Ginny and me," he asked, demanding an answer from Dumbledore.

"No, Harry, I know its Ginny and you." Dumbledore said gently.

"How? How can you be so sure. You made a mistake before," Ginny said.

"Three years ago, after much searching I found it," Dumbledore answered.

"Found what?" Remus asked eagerly.

"Lily's translation," Dumbledore answered, "She hid it. Made it really difficult to find. And left me clues, on the event that she never got to give it to me in person."

"Lily was always the cautious one of all us," Sirius said fondly. He appeared to be over his anger of not knowing. He had lost too many years already to waste what he had left on anger.

"Yes, she was. A little too cautious. And a little too smart," Dumbledore agreed.

"Where did she hide it?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"In the library. At Hogwarts. A single page, placed inside a book, hidden in a secret chamber of the room. I finally discovered it during the summer of the end of your second year, Harry."

"What did it say?" Ginny asked.

"He who bears the mark,

And she of the fire,

In state of dark

When times are dire

It begins with a debt

The essence of a soul

With love's first kiss

The escalation of power

Emerald eyes...

The boy who lived.

One of seven...

The girl who survived.

Through love...

A connection of passion.

Through fate...

A meeting of souls.

Through destiny...

A joining of minds

The black ones who bring terror

A stag and a unicorn

In a pool of silver

Will bring about a new dawn.

He, from the line of the lion

She, with the blade of his sword

To defeat the master of the snake,

The Dark Lord

And with love, and the four elements, the light create."

There was silence as Dumbledore finished the recitation. There was no doubts now.

"I knew immediately, of course," Dumbledore said, "After what happened in the chamber of secrets, it was obvious who the she would be. It was only a matter of time."

"You knew Voldemort was going to come back. That Ginny and I would fall in love, that...you knew," Harry said.

"I knew it would happen," Dumbledore agreed, "Not how, Harry. I didn't know Cedric would die. I didn't interfere."

"You knew my daughter was part of prophecy, and you didn't tell us," Arthur Weasley who till now had sat silent, spoke. Molly was still in shock.

"Your daughter and Harry are the only hope we have," Dumbledore said, firmly, and then in a softer voice explained, "We made one mistake before, Arthur. We couldn't afford another one. I couldn't let anyone find out about Ginny. It would only work with both of them. As long as her identity was secret, it would be fine."

"It couldn't be a mistake," Molly said, bitterness lacing her voice, "One of seven...how many red-heads do you know with six siblings?"

"I couldn't force it, Molly. You know that. You can't force love. If anyone had known, how much pressure would there have been on the two to fall in love," Dumbledore defended.

"Shut up. Everyone shut up. This isn't about you, its about us, " Ginny suddenly shouted, interrupting the argument. She got up, shaking Harry's arm off her and stalked to the window. Harry moved to follow her, looking scared. He reached out, tentatively with one hand for her shoulder, and Ginny turned into him, burying her face into his chest. He looked relieved, for a second and immediately wrapped his arms around her, pushing his face into her hair.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," the boy said softly, "I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault, Harry. Not everything is your fault," she muttered, and they could hardly hear the words muffled by Harry's robes.

The two stood there, silently, drawing comfort from each. No one dared said a word. It was Molly who first moved, turning slightly she walked out the room, her husband following her. Ron and Hermione were the last to leave, giving worried looks to the embracing couple, before leaving them alone, to deal with their destiny.

TBC